Optical system for a virtual retinal scan display and method for projecting image contents onto a retina

Abstract

An optical system for a virtual retinal scan display. The system includes: an image source providing image content as image data; an image-processing device; a projector unit for generating at least one light beam, and having a controllable deflecting device for the at least one light beam for the scanning projection of the image content; a diverting unit, onto which the image content is projected, equipped to direct the projected image content onto an eye of a user; an optical segmentation element using which the image content is projectable via different imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, at least individual imaging paths being controllable individually; and an optical replication component equipped to direct the projected image content, replicated and spatially offset, onto the eye of the user, so that a plurality of mutually spatially offset exit pupils having the image content is produced.

1 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . An optical system for a virtual retinal scan display, comprising:
 an image source which provides an image content in the form of image data;   an image-processing device for the image data;   a projector unit having a light source, able to be temporally modulated, configured to generate at least one light beam, and having a controllable deflecting device for the at least one light beam for a scanning projection of the image content;   a diverting unit onto which the image content is able to be projected, and which is equipped to direct the projected image content onto an eye of a user;   an optical segmentation element, positioned between the projector unit and the diverting unit, using which the image content is projectable via different imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, at least individual ones of the imaging paths being controllable individually; and   an optical replication component disposed in the at least one projection region of the diverting unit and equipped to direct the projected image content, replicated and spatially offset, onto the eye of the user, so that a plurality of mutually spatially offset exit pupils having the image content is produced.   
     
     
         25 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the image-processing device is equipped to generate sub-image data from the image data of the image source to control the projector unit, the sub-image data permitting projection of the image content via at least two different imaging paths of the individually controllable imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, and the image-processing device is equipped to generate different sub-image data for the at least two different imaging paths, so that a distortion of the image content is compensated for at least to some extent via the respective imaging path. 
     
     
         26 . The optical system as recited in  24 , wherein the image-processing device is equipped to generate sub-image data from the image data of the image source, the sub-image data permitting a simultaneous projection of N×M sub-images having essentially identical image content, and the optical segmentation element performs a spatial segmentation, so that the essentially identical image content of the N×M sub-images is projected via at least two different imaging paths of the individually controllable imaging paths onto the at least one projection region of the diverting unit. 
     
     
         27 . The optical system as recited in  claim 26 , wherein the image-processing device is equipped to switch individual imaging paths to active by making the sub-image data for a corresponding sub-image available for controlling the projector unit, and to deactivate individual imaging paths by blanking the sub-image data for the corresponding sub-images. 
     
     
         28 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the optical segmentation element is a segmenting lens, or a segmenting mirror, or a segmenting optical diffraction grating, or volume hologram, or a beam splitter. 
     
     
         29 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the optical segmentation element is a beam-splitter assembly that multiplies the projected image content N×M-fold, so that the image content is able to be projected on N×M different imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, the beam-splitter assembly is assigned at least one optical switch element with which at least a portion of the imaging paths is switchable either to active or inactive, and the image-processing device is equipped to generate sub-image data for controlling the projector unit from the image data of the image source, so that a distortion of the image content is compensated for at least to some extent via the at least one imaging path switched to active. 
     
     
         30 . The optical system as recited in  claim 29 , wherein the optical switch element is a component of the beam-splitter assembly or a separate filter element able to be positioned in an output-beam path of the beam-splitter assembly. 
     
     
         31 . The optical system as recited in  claim 29 , wherein the optical switch element is an electrically controllable polarization filter and/or an electro-optical modulator and/or an acousto-optical modulator and/or a photo-elastic modulator and/or an optical shutter and/or an electrically controllable liquid lens. 
     
     
         32 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the optical replication component is a layer structure having at least one holographically functionalized layer. 
     
     
         33 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the optical replication component is a layer structure having at least two layers, disposed one above the other, having different holographic functions, whereby the plurality of mutually spatially offset exit pupils is produced. 
     
     
         34 . The optical system as recited in  claim 32 , wherein the optical replication component includes at least one layer in which at least two different holographic functions are realized, and the different holographic functions are formed in one common plane but in different intermittent zones of the layer, using which the plurality of mutually spatially offset exit pupils is produced. 
     
     
         35 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the at least one optical segmentation element and the optical replication component are configured in such a way that the exit pupils thus produced are disposed in a raster, a distance between each two directly and/or diagonally adjacent exit pupils being less than a smallest likely pupil diameter of the user. 
     
     
         36 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the at least one optical segmentation element and the optical replication component are configured in such a way that any distance between two exit pupils produced on one common imaging path is greater than a greatest likely pupil diameter of the user. 
     
     
         37 . The optical system as recited in  claim 24 , further comprising:
 an eye-tracker device configured to detect and/or determine a state of the eye of the user, the state of the eye including: an eye movement, and/or a speed of the eye movement, and/or a pupil position, and/or a pupil size, and/or a viewing direction, and/or a state of accommodation, and/or a fixation distance of the eye.   
     
     
         38 . The optical system as recited in  claim 37 , wherein individual imaging paths are controllable and are able to be activated and deactivated as a function of the detected state of the eye of the user. 
     
     
         39 . The optical system as recited in  claim 38 , wherein the activation and deactivation of the individual imaging paths and a configuration of the at least one optical segmentation element and the optical replication component are matched to each other in such a way that only one exit pupil is ever produced in a region of the pupil of the user per activated imaging path, a largest likely pupil diameter being taken as a basis. 
     
     
         40 . The optical system as recited in  claim 38 , wherein the image-processing device is equipped to take into account the detected state of the eye of the user when generating sub-image data and/or to consider which imaging paths are activated and which imaging paths are deactivated in order to compensate for variations in brightness caused as a result in an image impression. 
     
     
         41 . The optical system as recited in  claim 25 , wherein the image-processing device is equipped to take into account and to compensate for a defective vision and/or defective accommodation of the user when generating the sub-image data. 
     
     
         42 . The optical system as recited in  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a pair of smart glasses having a frame and lenses, wherein the at least one projector unit and the at least one optical segmentation element are mounted on the frame, and the at least one diverting unit together with the at least one optical replication component is integrated in at least one lens.   
     
     
         43 . The optical system as recited in  claim 42 , wherein the image source is disposed together with the image-processing device in an external unit, and the sub-image data are transmitted from the external unit to the projector unit of the smart glasses. 
     
     
         44 . The optical system as recited in  claim 42 , wherein the image source is disposed in an external unit, the image-processing device is mounted together with the projector unit on the frame, and the image data are transmitted from the external unit to the image-processing device of the smart glasses. 
     
     
         45 . A method for projecting image contents onto a retina of a user using an optical system which includes:
 an image source which provides an image content in the form of image data,   an image-processing device for the image data,   a projector unit having a light source, able to be modulated temporally, configured to generate at least one light beam, and having a controllable deflecting device for the at least one light beam for a scanning projection of the image content,   a diverting unit onto which the image content is projected, and which directs the projected image content onto an eye of a user,   an optical segmentation element positioned between the projector unit and the diverting unit, and   an optical replication component disposed in a projection region of the diverting unit,   
       the method comprising the following steps:
 projecting the image content using the optical segmentation element via different imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, at least individual imaging paths being controlled individually; and 
 replicating the projected image content using the optical replication component and directing the replicated image content, spatially offset, onto the eye of the user, so that a plurality of mutually spatially offset exit pupils having the image content is produced. 
 
     
     
         46 . The method as recited in  claim 45 , wherein sub-image data for controlling the projector unit are generated from the image data of the image source, the sub-image data permitting projection of the image content via different imaging paths onto at least one projection region of the diverting unit, and different sub-image data are generated for at least two different respective imaging paths, so that a distortion of the image content is compensated for at least to some extent via the respective imaging path.